Secrets of the Future Made Known

 •  3 min. read  •  grade level: 5
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"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant" (Psa. 25:14).
Now that Jesus is glorified and the Holy Ghost come, secrets have been revealed respecting the following:
The end of Jewish dispersion.
The end of Gentile government.
The end of the Church on earth.
In unfolding His secrets God makes His own choice of servants.
We shall have to look at four: Joseph the patriarch, Daniel the prophet, John the apostle of the Word made flesh, and Paul the apostle of the glorified Christ.
But in addition to these there is Another, a perfect Servant, of whom God could say, centuries before He appeared, "Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth" (Isa. 42:1; Matt. 12:18). Unmistakable features of this Servant can be traced in each of the others. For example:
All were specially loved. JOSEPH was loved more than all his father's children. DANIEL was told by Gabriel, "Thou art greatly beloved." JOHN was "the disciple whom Jesus loved." PAUL could say of the Son of God, "Who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gen. 37:3; Dan. 9:23; John 21:7; Gal. 2:20).
All were specially hated. (See Gen. 37:4; Dan. 6:4; Rev. 1:9; 1 Cor. 4:9-13.)
All were marked by separation. In heart and ways they were entirely apart from the defilement around. Joseph was apart from the evil of his brothers, and fled from adulterous wickedness. Daniel refused to defile himself with the king's meat. John warns solemnly against the world. Paul was crucified to it, and it to him (Gen. 39:9; Dan. 1:8; 1 John 2:15-17;5:19; Gal. 6:14).
All suffered expulsion. Joseph was a prisoner in Egypt, Daniel a captive in Babylon, John in banishment at Patmos, Paul a prisoner in Rome.
But now think of the Perfect Servant! Who so truly beloved? Who so bitterly hated? Who so absolutely separate? Who so wickedly banished? Precious Redeemer!
Not only does God make His own choice of servants, He has His own choice of methods also. Let us pause to admire them.
Each of the first two servants came into God's secrets through dreams-a heathen king's dream and his own. The last two received theirs by direct revelation. But all four go to illustrate and confirm the truth that it was outside the sphere of man's will. "Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21). In 1 Cor. 2:9,10, what God makes known by revelation is put in direct contrast to that which the "eye" and "ear" and "heart" of man can reach by investigation. So with a dream.
A dream is an impression made on man's mind when not under the control of his will. No one can decide beforehand what he will dream, or what he will not; nor can he at will repeat a dream. This was proved to Nebuchadnezzar.
What does this teach us? If God can hold man's will in abeyance in making a purpose known, He can as easily do the same in carrying that purpose out.